Sort Collection
Description
The sort collection part allows application users to sort a collection.
Use
The sort collection part can be used for sorting a collection in ascending or descending oder. The result of this sort can also be put into an new data object. The sort_collection part is located in process nodes under collections and then sort collection on the Element tab.
Editor Fields
| Field |
Type / Options |
Optional/ |
Description |
| Input |
data object |
M |
This is the name of the collection you want to sort. |
| Item type |
Simple|Complex |
M |
Simple: Select this option if the items in the collection are number, text, or date types. Complex: Select this option if the items in the collection are tables. For complex item types, it is possible to specify multiple fields for sorting. If sorting two items with the same value, the system will compare the next field. If a field is missing the system will treat the field as having a nil value. |
| Output |
data object | M |
This is the name of the resulting collection that contains the sorted collection. This can also be the same as the input data object. |
| Data type |
text|number|date |
C |
This is where you seelct the data type of the sorting column. |
| Output direction |
asc|desc |
C |
This option allows you to select the sorting direction. |
| Date format |
text |
C |
If the data type is date, this field appears and allows you to specify the format of the date field. |
| Order by |
table | C | If item type is complex: Order by: This is the name of the collection column on which the system will sort. Direction: This option allows you to select the sort direction -- the options are asc|desc, and the default is asc. Data type: This option is where you select the data type of the sorting column. The choices are number|text|date. Date format: If data type is date, this is where you specify the format of the date field. |
Example
Please download and import the following example project in your workspace.
This example shows the usage of the sort collection part for both simple and complex item types.